White House releases Obama 'birth certificate'

The White House today released a copy of President Obama’s “Certificate of Live Birth,” a document that for the first time claims Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital as the president’s birth place.

Released by the White House

The White House confirmed the document as “proof positive” the president was born in Hawaii.

According to White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, Obama decided the full document was needed because of the growing questions about the president’s birth.

He described how there had been concern about the Internet “chatter” that had grown into a national political debate.

He said the president thought it was becoming a “distraction” from the issues that face the nation.

On April 22, Obama sent a letter to Hawaii authorities asking for the document.

“The President directed his counsel to review the legal authority for seeking access to the long form certificate and to request on that basis that the Hawaii State Department of Health make an exception to release a copy of his long form birth certificate. They granted that exception in part because of the tremendous volume of requests they had been getting,” Pfeiffer said in a statement.

Real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump, a possible GOP Republican candidate in 2012, has been asking questions about Obama’s documentation for several weeks now.

“First we have to look at the certificate,” he said. “I want to look at it, but I hope it’s true, so we can get to more important national issues.”

“Why he didn’t do it when the Clintons asked for it. Why he didn’t do it when everyone else was asking about it, I don’t know,” he said.

President Barack Obama in the Oval Office April 4, 2011

“You’re going to have many people looking at it …. It’s amazing that all of a sudden it materializes. Experts will look at it … and I’m very proud that I was able to bring this to a point.”

The issue has been dogging Obama since before his election, and WND has reported on the multitude of lawsuits and other challenges to the president’s tenure in the Oval Office. They center on his status as a “natural born citizen.”

The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.”

If the document proves valid, it could answer the questions raised by those who have alleged he was not actually born in Hawaii. But it also could prove his ineligibility because of its references to his father. Some of the cases challenging Obama have explained that he was a dual citizen through his father at his birth, and they contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born citizens.

Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND, the only news agency that has waged a relentless investigative campaign on questions swirling around the Obama’s eligibility for nearly three years, was elated at the turn of events.

“We’re gratified that our work has begun to pay off,” he said. “The certificate of live birth is an absolutely vital foundation for determining constitutional eligibility of any president. We look forward to reviewing it like so many other Americans do at this late date. But it is important to remember there are still dozens of other questions concerning this question of eligibility that need to be resolved to assure what has become a very skeptical public concerning Barack Obama’s parentage, his adoption, his citizenship status throughout his life and why he continues to cultivate a culture of secrecy around his life.”

Obama, addressing the White House press corps, said, “Normally, I would not comment on something like this.”

“We posted the certificate that is given by the state of Hawaii on the Internet for everybody to see. Provided an affidavit that they have seen it. Yet this thing just keeps on going.”

He boasted of giving a speech about the budget and the nation’s debt, but lamented, “during that entire week, the dominant news story wasn’t about these huge monumental choices we have to make as a nation, it was about my birth certificate.”

He said the nation can’t solve problems if “we spend time vilifying each other … if we just make stuff up and pretend facts are not facts … if we get distracted by side shows and carnival barkers.”

The Washington Times described Obama as “visibly frustrated” and noted that a recent CBS News-New York Times poll showed 45 percent of registered Republican voters believe Obama was not born in the U.S.

“I know that there’s going to be a segment of people for which, no matter what we put out, this issue will not be put to rest, but I’m speaking to the vast majority of the American people,” Obama said. “We do not have time for this kind of silliness. We’ve got better stuff to do. I’ve got better stuff to do.”

Obama was scheduled today to travel to Chicago to appear on the Oprah television show.

“The news media and the political establishment were quick to rush to judgment regarding Obama’s eligibility in 2008, without any basis. It would be a big mistake for everyone to jump to a conclusion now based on the release of this document, which raises as many questions as it answers,” Farah added.